


Cheap Tavern: Small Bed

by Beauteousmajesty



Series: Tiefling Time (in which I overthink tieflings) [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, He/Him Pronouns for Mollymauk Tealeaf, Humor, Jester is wiggly, Molly's gender is bastard and will be referred to as such, Precampaign, Set pre ep 26, Sharing a Bed, Tiefling Biology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27376720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beauteousmajesty/pseuds/Beauteousmajesty
Summary: Historically double beds were pretty small. Also, it's probable that the taverns the nein stay at early in the campaign didn't have twin beds - we meet Nott sleeping at Caleb's feet, don't we?So there's only one bed. And Beau and Jester are roommates. (Oh my god they were roommates). It's not romantic. Jester's a nightmare who's never had to share a bed before.
Relationships: Fjord & Beauregard Lionett, Jester Lavorre & Beauregard Lionett
Series: Tiefling Time (in which I overthink tieflings) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1989235
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	Cheap Tavern: Small Bed

Cheap tavern rooms come with one bed. This is simply a fact of life. When Beau meets Jester and Fjord their shared finances do not stretch far enough for more than two rooms. So they play boulder, parchment, shears to determine who is sharing. And, after a couple of false starts -- three way boulder, parchment, shears is a terrible idea -- Beau and Jester become roommates.

Beau's had roommates before, of course, the dormitories at the Cobalt Soul had housed a number of trainees on its floor. But there's a difference, in her opinion, between sharing the undefined space of the floor and the precarious confines of a narrow bed. Jester does not make it easy.

They find out on their first night of sharing that they have to stay close to each other so that one doesn't end up tumbling onto the rough floorboards. Beau is happy to sleep on her back, settling down to sleep immediately after she climbs into bed, grateful for anything softer than the rough roadside she'd slept on for the previous few nights. Her sleeping is interrupted by the fact that Jester is a wriggler. 

The tiefling can't seem to settle in the bed, spending a few moments testing out each different sleeping position before growing tired of it and rolling over. When she lies facing away from Beau, Beau gets the delight of remembering very much that her new friend has a tail. Jester's tail wiggles as much as she does, and Beau's unsure as to how aware of it Jester actually is. The tail wafts the thin blankets and threadbare quilt about, letting small draughts into the warmth Beau is huddled in beneath. Jester's tail takes itself on a journey as its owner faces away, seemingly unaware of what's happening. 

Beau is first made aware of the tail she is sharing a bed with as it snakes around her waist and manages to shove itself through a loop on her belt. Beau has to unhook it as it wriggles wildly before vanishing down to her feet once freed. Jester tucks it under herself as she rolls over, and Beau becomes immediately incredibly appreciative of the padded fabric she has wrapped around her horns to sleep. Without dark vision, she can only catch the barest outline of her sleeping companion silhouetted in the dim light shining through the floorboards from the tavern below.

Even though she can't see much, she is incredibly aware of how close the padded horn rests to her own face, as Jester rests her head at the seemingly award angle her horns allow her to. She can make out the gleam of Jester's open eyes shining in the dark as her new friend begins to excitedly stage whisper to her.

'Hey Beau, it's really cool that I'm sharing with you. I've never shared with anyone before, except my mama. Isn't it fun? Can you imagine if I was sharing with Fjord? He's so handsome, don't you think? It would be like one of those story books. The ones where there's only one bed but it's ok because both of them were secretly in love with each other anyway and then they bone because they love each other-'

Beau is too tired to deal with this right now. They fought a serpent today and all she wants to do is sleep. She grunts in a tone that's not completely dismissive but is hopefully a strong hint for Jester to be quiet.

'Oh sorry, Beau, you're right. I shouldn't ask you if you think Fjord is handsome because you're only into ladieeeees. Do you think they'll be any pretty ladies at the circus we saw setting up? I'm really excited about the circus. I hope we can go to it. I haven't seen anything cool like that since I left Nicodranas. And let me tell you there are so pretty fucking cool things in Nicodranas. Like my mama. She's the coolest thing in Nicodranas and there's no way that this circus will be anywhere near as good as her-'

Jester keeps talking. Beau rolls over to face away from her. If she closes her eyes and tries to tune Jester out, hopefully she'll end up asleep. At least that's the plan until she catches Jester declaring 'I think I might fall out so I'm going to hold on', before wrapping her arms around Beau's waist and bringing her forehead against the back of Beau's head, framing her between the jutting ends of her horns.

'Your undercut is fluffy, Beau. Did you know that? I guess you knew that. But it's so soft and fluffy and I think I'm going to stay and cuddle you forever'

She follows through on that threat. And Beau goes to sleep tucked in the arms of a very strong lady in her shift, and her heart pays the price for it. It doesn't help that Jester occasionally rubs her face into her undercut to remind herself how soft it is, or that she tosses her leg over Beau's hip at some point to get comfy. 

Beau is warm, both in body and in heart, so she relaxes into Jester's arms to sleep. Jester settles down, stops talking and starts sleeping, Beau feels her twitch a little as she slips under. The horns are her only danger, she thinks, now that Jester's tail is bothering the covers behind her.

And that's when the tail snacks her in the face.

* * *

She brings it up with Fjord late one afternoon, weeks later, in Zadash. They're chilling in the Leaky Tap whilst the others wreak havoc somewhere else. She's had a little while to get used to her wiggly bedmate, and declared Jester's tail her archenemy. It always smacks her just as she's settling down. Although sometimes it curls around her leg or arm and that's nice. Less nice are the times that Jester has wiggled enough to throw her onto the floor, before sprawling, still asleep, over the bed like a starfish.

'Tieflings, dude, they just get everywhere. I can't make it a single night without Molly's tail going somewhere irritating. I don't even think the bastard knows it's doing it, he just sleeps on, unaware.'

Beau considers Molly. He's wiggly enough when he's awake, always shifting around in the cart or interrupting their long walking sessions with cartwheels or juggling his swords or chasing about with Jester. 

'He must be an absolute nightmare. Has he thrown you on the floor yet?'

There's a touch of guilt on Fjord's face as he answers, 'He woke me up once, I can't remember why, and I jumped and pushed him out of bed as a reflex. He won't stop bringin' it up.'

'I'll give you a gold piece to do it again'

'I doubt I'll have any luck. Once we decided his horns were too dangerous to sleep with his back to me he's taken the invitation to cling on like a leech. If he goes, I go too.'

'Shame. Offer still stands.' And with that Beau heads back to the bar to get another drink. The cold tankard will help to soothe the bruise on her elbow from her latest encounter with the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> It's me, I'm jester in bed. But unlike Jester, I have cold hands and feet always. The mighty nein roommate buddies share a bed early on and I will die on that hill. also jester has horn protectors bc she's civilized. Molly is two and crawled out of the mud so unlucky fjord I guess.


End file.
